It’s with mixed feelings that I read the great 5 time NBA champion’s poem announcing that he was walking away from the game that made him a household name. As a Kobe fan that watched him from draft day, to multiple champions, to the worst season of his long 20 year career it’s hard to see him leave. But after watching him diminish the last several years I have to say that it really is time to hang it up before he tarnishes his amazing legacy. Whether or not you like Kobe, as an athlete or person, you have to respect his relentless work ethic. Read his full poem below…

Dear Basketball,

From the moment
I started rolling my dad’s tube socks
And shooting imaginary
Game-winning shots
In the Great Western Forum
I knew one thing was real:

I fell in love with you.

A love so deep I gave you my all —
From my mind & body
To my spirit & soul.

As a six-year-old boy
Deeply in love with you
I never saw the end of the tunnel.
I only saw myself
Running out of one.

And so I ran.
I ran up and down every court
After every loose ball for you.
You asked for my hustle
I gave you my heart
Because it came with so much more.

I played through the sweat and hurt
Not because challenge called me
But because YOU called me.
I did everything for YOU
Because that’s what you do
When someone makes you feel as
Alive as you’ve made me feel.

You gave a six-year-old boy his Laker dream
And I’ll always love you for it.
But I can’t love you obsessively for much longer.
This season is all I have left to give.
My heart can take the pounding
My mind can handle the grind
But my body knows it’s time to say goodbye.

And that’s OK.
I’m ready to let you go.
I want you to know now
So we both can savor every moment we have left together.
The good and the bad.
We have given each other
All that we have.

And we both know, no matter what I do next
I’ll always be that kid
With the rolled up socks
Garbage can in the corner
:05 seconds on the clock
Ball in my hands.
5 … 4 … 3 … 2 … 1

Remember that guy George Zimmer (NOT ZIMMERMAN) and his famous “you’ll like the way you look i guarantee it” line. Well he is back, sort of. After being terminated by the board of the Men’s Warehouse, a company he founded and turned into a multi-billion dollar haberdashery empire, he has a new startup. According to Engadget, the clothing tycoon has a new venture called zTailor.

Zimmer’s new project is called zTailor, a company allows customers to coordinate an in-home fitting. All you have to do is book the appointment and a clothing pro with no less than five years of altering experience will take your measurements and return the items in a week or less. What’s more, if the item still doesn’t fit, any further changes are done free of charge. The same applies if you coordinate through the aforementioned retailers, too. zTailor is available in more areas, though, as folks in Arizona, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. The plan is for the service to be available throughout the US before summer’s end.

What more can you expect from a guy that was kicked off the board of his own company (Batman & Wayne Enterprises, anyone?) and has personally guaranteed that millions of me would like the way they look ( I must agree, I do…). Macy’s and Bloomingdales have already agreed to sign on to the service.

PS. George Zimmer is a dopplegagger for the most interesting man in the world.

20 years ago Jordan made a huge media splash by just saying two words – “I’m back.” Even more important was how they were said…Via Fax. In our instantaneous world of Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook this looks and sounds prehistoric. This led the way for one of the most spectacular sports stories in recent history. After his return Jordan had to wear 45 for the next 22 games, as he decided to retire his number 23. But after Nick Anderson of the Orlando Magic stole the ball from Jordan (which ultimately lead to a Bulls lose) in Game 1 of the 1995 East Conference Final with 10 seconds left, Anderson told the press “Number 45 is not number 23,I couldn’t have done that to number 23.” Apparently Jordan agreed, and did his best Clark Kent/Superman impression when he removed his warm-ups just before the start of Game 2 to reveal “the 23.” MJ dropped 38 points that game and even though the Bulls lost the series MJ went on to average 31 ppg. 3 more titles later and the rest is well…history.